After Words

The 21st century saga of San Francisco's rise and fall -- paralleled by the arrival of tech entrepreneurs who remade the city's culture, politics, and economy - as told by journalist Jonathan Weber. In 1990, he became the first "Silicon Valley" reporter for the Los Angeles Times and later coordinated Reuters' reporting on West Coast technology. He sat down with former New York Times Technology Reporter, John Markoff, at The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California in San Francisco in June.

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MIT Professor Thomas Levenson describes the history of vaccine skepticism. His book is titled, "A Pox on Fools - True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines." He was interviewed by senior writer at Ars Technica, Jennifer Ouellette at the Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. 

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Chris Pope argued for policies that he believes would improve the current welfare system in the United States. The Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., hosted this event. 

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Longtime ABC News war correspondent Martha Raddatz profiled American military service members and their families who have served in the 25 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. She was interviewed by San Francisco ABC7 News Anchor, Dan Ashley, at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California in May of 2026. 

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Chris Smalls told his story of becoming the co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union. He was interviewed by Journalist & Author Karen Attiah at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. 

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Technology reporter Joanna Stern describes the year she spent using artificial intelligence and robots in all aspects of her life. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, provided this event.

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Historian Molly Beer took a woman's-eye view of the revolutionary era through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton's sister-in-law. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello hosted this event.

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Jean Becker and Tom Collamore, former staffers to President George H.W. Bush and co-authors of Don't Tell the President, discuss the work done by advance teams for presidential events, including foreign trips, state visits, and campaign rallies.

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Matthew Campbell penned a whodunit tale about plundered Cambodian art and antiquities, the international market for stolen goods, the sometimes unwitting participation of prominent museums, and the fight to return objects to their rightful places and owners. Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., hosted this event.

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Maya Kornberg and Former U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) discussed congressional reform over the past 50 years and the forces that thwart those efforts. This event was hosted by the New York University John Brademas Center in Washington, DC.

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